Join me on my travel adventures and be inspired to live like a local when you travel

I spend a lot of my time umming and ahhhring about when to book flights for trips – none more so than this year so far, planning a summer trip around Japan, via Hong Kong. They say that the best bit about a holiday is the journey, and for me that journey truly starts when … More Travel hack #1: when to book flights

Tucked away down Ramillies Street on the edge of Oxford Street, The Photographers’ Gallery is London’s best showcase for photographic talent. That is, until stiff competition arrives from Stockholm’s Fotografiska. As shoppers jam past each other on the streets outside, a special kind of jostling takes place in this Mecca to photography, as necks crane to … More Look out London: The Photographers’ Gallery

Stockholm, like the rest of Scandinavia, is really expensive, isn’t it? Well, no, it doesn’t have to be! Fresh from a long weekend in Stockholm, I’ve researched (eaten) some of the best food on offer in Stockholm right now, and none of it breaks the bank. Read on for my top 5 places in Stockholm … More Eat for less in Stockholm

‘We call these fenced migrant camps “jungles”, as if they are all savages, when what they are doing is trying to escape savagery’. I wobbled, eyes stinging in an attempt to hold back tears. Though physcially I was sat down in a performance space at Imperial War Museum London, my mind was inside what I … More New in London – Aman Mojadidi: Remembering a Future

Ski Sunday is on, there’s a new champion at Kitzbühel and the Winter Olympics are around the corner. The ski season is well under way and if you want some serious snow, now’s the time to plan your winter holiday. Not sure where to go? Whether it’s a short break or a week long adventure … More My pick of the pistes: ski resorts in Europe

Newsflash: Lumiere London is back. And whether you know much about it or not, if you so much as stray into King’s Cross, Piccadilly, Southbank or Mayfair, you’re bound to trip into some lights fantastic. 2018’s Lumiere London is bigger, brighter and brasher (light up candy floss, anyone?) than previous years, and it remains one … More Look out: Lumiere London

It opened back in November so if you’re eagle eyed you’ll have beaten me to it but I visited London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE last weekend and I left seriously impressed. When even the loos are remarkable, you know you’re onto something. Part contemporary art space and part reconstructed Roman temple, there’s a lot more to … More New in London: the Bloomberg SPACE

The midnight fever of fireworks out of the way for another year, it’s time to focus on forgetting those rubbish resolutions and plan for the important stuff instead – where you’ll be travelling. What do I have planned? I’ll be hoping for snow, glorious snow in early February as I visit my brother Stephen in … More Happy travels!

Day 365 is nearly over, but before thoughts turn to far flung travel in 2018 I thought I’d look back over some 2017 highlights. Read on for some of my favourite photos from my travels and top tips if you’re planning your own city break in 2018. Paris Having last walked the streets of Paris … More My 2017 travel highlights

Copenhagen, the achingly cool capital of Denmark. Home of cycling, great design, hygge and, as I recently found out, full of wonderful art. Whether you like yours ancient or modern, Copenhagen knows how to house it, leaving even the least interested spectator impressed. If art is all about experiences, these are my pick of the … More An art lover’s guide to Copenhagen

‘How long do your hands have to be this cold, before you get frostbite and they fall off?’ Night had fallen on a glacial February day, 493km into our journey north from Reykjavik by car. 1km to go and we were tantalisingly close to our X on the map, our remote Airbnb farmhouse in Öxnadalur, northern … More Adventure in Iceland: following the lights

Acute mountain sickness isn’t fun. Dominating the peaks of South America was going to be harder than I foresaw. As I stumbled steeply upwards at the back of the pack, our local walking guide Henry an ever-smaller speck in the distance, I asked myself: was I cut out for this? We had arrived at the … More Lucky to be last: hiking in the Andes

The clocks have gone back. An extra hour in bed was good while it lasted, but pretty soon winter will properly set in and sunshine will seem like a distant memory. With my next pay cheques already spent on Christmas presents and nothing left in the piggy bank, hopes of a new year spent on … More Travel the music world

Would you rather be sat where you are right now, or on some small island far, far away? It’s a no-brainer, right? Sailing away from the mainland towards a speck of rock in the distance and the promise of laid-back island life is about as different from the daily grind and the crowded pollution of … More Awesome island getaways

If you’re still looking for a long weekend destination, consider visiting Porto, the gem of northern Portugal and home of all things Port. Three days is plenty of time to enjoy this compact city with its Port tastings, bling cathedrals and high quality tours. Sample lipsmacking seafood and tapas, relax in a bar to the … More 72 hours in Porto

Sense has prevailed and Emmanuel Macron is President of France instead of rotten to the core Marine Le Pen. Whether you’ve been to Paris before or not, celebrate this election near miss with a weekend of eating, drinking, shopping and culture à Paris. Eating There’s only one way to start a weekend in Paris, get … More Live like a local in Paris

Stockholm is easily one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Made up of 14 islands, and surrounded by an archipelago of thousands more, the world-class museums, parks and activities mean you’ll never be short of things to do. Find Stockholm’s beauty everywhere you go with my top five recommendations: 1. Djurgården island Of central … More Stockholm’s beauty

Milan is known as Italy’s fashion, shopping and finance capital. It’s so much more than that, but over a weekend it can be hard to scratch beneath its glittering surface and experience more than the unmissable stuff – Leonardo’s Last Supper, the Galleria shopping mall, Duomo and La Scala. And that gelato for that Instagram … More Live like a local in Milan

‘Pity the selfishness of lovers: it is brief, a forlorn hope; it is impossible.’ – Elizabeth Bowen Break-ups are never fun, and in London they can be pretty lonely too. The holding-back-tears-in-the-office days are inevitable, but it doesn’t mean you have to be a hermit in your own city. If you’ve just had your heart … More Broken heart? Let London be the cure